Tuesday 10 January 2017 15:44, UK
Hulk says he helped to convince fellow Brazilian Oscar to leave Chelsea and move to the Chinese Super League to join Shanghai SIPG.
The 25-year-old moved to China when the January transfer window opened after Antonio Conte's side accepted a bid of around £60m last month.
Oscar will reportedly earn around £500,000 a week at his new club, but Hulk, who joined Shanghai from Zenit in June for £45.7m, downplayed money as a motivating factor for the transfer and says he helped to sell the club and Chinese lifestyle to the midfielder.
"I talked to Oscar about Shanghai SIPG before he made the move," he said. "I said to him that Shanghai is a beautiful city, the club is fantastic and we will get even better in the coming years.
"I also said our team-mates are very friendly and welcoming, which makes me feel pretty good. After hearing what I told him, he came."
Oscar, who is now playing under former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas, scored on his debut in a 2-1 friendly win over Saudi Arabian Premier League side Al Batin in Doha on Monday.
Hulk is adamant that the huge transfer fees both players, and fellow forward Elkeson, have commanded will not put any extra pressure on them.
"We have grown accustomed to playing under huge pressure, no matter how much the club has spent on players," he added. "Oscar, Elkeson and I are used to it. This is not a problem.
"Each new player is coming to help the team and I believe Oscar will help us a lot. The level of the team has improved a lot, obviously, and I think we will win the title next season."
